Mississippi St QB Prescott gets 1 more chance at Egg Bowl

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) Dak Prescott is already the owner of 38 Mississippi State records and 22 victories as the starting quarterback during a superb career that's widely viewed as the best in school history.

Now there's one more thing he'd like to accomplish before leaving Starkville: Winning the Egg Bowl against rival Mississippi in his final home game.

The Egg Bowl is always a big deal in Mississippi, but this one features even a little more drama.

For one thing, both teams are good. When No. 19 Ole Miss (8-3, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) travels to face No. 23 Mississippi State (8-3, 4-3) on Saturday, both teams will be ranked during the Egg Bowl for just the sixth time.

There also should be some superb quarterback play.

Ole Miss first-year starter Chad Kelly leads the SEC in passing yards and touchdowns, leading a Rebel offense that's averaging more than 40 points per game.

But Kelly will be an Egg Bowl neophyte on Saturday in what likely will be a hostile environment. Prescott's name is already prominent in the game's lore.

It was two years ago in Starkville when an injured Prescott came off the bench in the fourth quarter to rally the Bulldogs past Ole Miss for a 17-10 overtime win.

That was the moment that Prescott truly became a star in Starkville. Over the next two years, his consistently stellar play has turned him into one of most prolific quarterbacks in league history.

A few of the highlights:

- He's been responsible for 107 touchdowns during his career, which trails only Florida's Tim Tebow, Georgia's Aaron Murray and Florida's Danny Wuerffel in SEC history.

- His 11,153 total offensive yards rank fifth behind Murray, Tebow, Florida's Chris Leak and Georgia's David Greene. He'll pass Leak and Greene on Saturday with a good game.

- He led Mississippi State to a 10-win season in 2014. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 for the first time in school history and stayed in the top spot for five weeks.

Prescott considered leaving for the NFL in the offseason, though opinions about his professional potential are mixed. He's said a big reason for his return is he wanted to win one more Egg Bowl after the Bulldogs lost 31-17 to Ole Miss in Oxford last season.

''It's pure excitement knowing I came back for this reason,'' Prescott said. ''From the time I got here, everything goes into this week. Last year, this year, everything boils down to this.''

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen has said that Prescott's presence in the program can't be measured by numbers alone. He said Prescott has also been invaluable as the face of the Bulldogs and representing the program with class during the past four years.

On Saturday, Bulldog fans will get one more chance to see him play at Davis Wade Stadium.

''I'm guessing when they announce him for senior night, it'll probably be really loud,'' Mullen said. ''I bet he'll get a pretty good ovation. All of our fans will show him their appreciation for all that he's done.''